Internalized Object Relationship as an Advanced Level of Psychodiagnosis

Internalized representations of past relationship experiences, referred to as internalized object relations (IOR), impact how patients perceive and experience their therapist and the therapist’s interventions. The ability to identify the internalized object relationship paradigm through which the patient experiences the therapist allows the therapist to formulate interventions that challenge rather than unconsciously enact pathogenic transference dynamics. In this paper, a case example is used to highlight methods for psychodiagnosing internalized object relational roles in the patient-therapist interaction. Further, the authors attempt to demonstrate the utility of incorporating internalized object relations-based formulations in the planning of interventions and assessment of patient responses, and identify areas for further development of internalized object relations concepts in ISTDP theory and technique.